Indian cricketers stare at ₹150–200 Crore loss after ban on money games ads: Report

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill has sent shockwaves through Indian cricket. With the fantasy gaming platforms banned, Dream11 will no longer sponsor the Indian cricket team, and the BCCI is already on the hunt for a new sponsor before the Asia Cup 2025. While the board may not feel much of an impact, Indian players and IPL franchises could face financial consequences that might be too much to absorb.   

For years, the top Indian players have been partnering with these platforms. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and the Pandya brothers promoted Dream11, while Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were with My11 Circle. Virat Kohli promoted MPL, and MS Dhoni had a deal with Winzo. With the ban, all of those contracts will evaporate. Reports suggest Virat Kohli could be around INR 10-12 crore every year, while Rohit Sharma's endorsement income could drop by 6-7 crore+. Dhoni is also likely to lose around 4-6 crore every deal.

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Indian players may face heavy losses as gaming sponsors exit

As per a report from Cricbuzz, all Indian players could suffer losses of as much as 150-200 crore in a year. For some, it could be even more. For example, Siraj had three brand deals, one of which was with My11 Circle, meaning he has immediately lost roughly one-third of his total sponsorship fees, while others, such as Washington Sundar, completely rely on the platform and therefore are likely to face a greater hit. Meanwhile, the IPL is also likely to suffer. My11 Circle had an associate sponsorship deal with the league for a total of INR 125 crore, with still three years left on the contract with the BCCI. The franchises, too (KKR, LSG, SRH), have contracts worth 10-20 crore a year in brand partnerships.

Coming to the totals, experts believe that the total loss will be about INR 10,000 crore a year. Online gaming platforms made up 7-8% of the total advertising market, and it's expected that almost 80% of that would go away, hence around 15-20% of digital ad spends will disappear, while also the goldmine of cricket and consequently content revenue will suffer.

As Karan Taurani from Elara Capital mentioned, while cricketers’ endorsement earnings could fall to 20-25%, this is one of the main factors between players and brands to has occurred in a long time. The BCCI may replace the sponsors, but players and IPL franchises are currently looking at a substantial loss.